Why do we need to know about political issues when reading Rip Van Winkle?

Foster notes that political undertones can be found in seemingly apolitical texts such as Rip Van Winkle. Because political considerations are closely entwined with social, economic, historic and cultural issues, it is unsurprising that many texts can be said to be political in nature. Consequently, Foster argues that knowing something about the political and social context in which the writer was writing is significant for it can add a dimension to the text which readers, in their own unique political settings, might not have realized.